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Dubai authority calls for inspection bureau to clock standard of schools

Dubai - Chief of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority explained how collaboration and good governance have contributed in the provision of good education for students in Dubai.

A consistent, committed pattern of education reform, supported by committed political leadership and data-driven reform are some of the primary reasons for increase in standards of school education in Dubai.
Chief of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dr Abdulla Al Karam, explained that even though the city and country have made great strides in the field of school education, there is now need for a common and Federal Inspection bureau that will clock and raise the standards of school education in the Emirates.
He was speaking at the global release of the CfBT Education Trust report Interesting Cities: five approaches to urban reform, a pioneering comparison of the approaches used to improve schools standards in five diverse global cities across the world: Dubai, London, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Ho Chi Minh City). The report was released at the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government on Monday.
Karam said: "Happiness is the key recipe to achieve national agenda". He explained how collaboration and good governance have contributed in the provision of good education for students in Dubai.
"In the past seven years, we've engaged with local schools, teachers, parents and partners to provide meaningful information which has helped improve the quality of teaching and learning significantly in Dubai," said Karam.
According to the report, the UAE is the highest-performing state in the Middle East in terms of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) performance and there was a marked improvement in PISA scores between 2009 and 2012.
Karam added: "The Interesting Cities report allows us to look outwards - to share the best of what we do and to learn the best of what others are doing."
He said: "Our education system is largely private and largely diversified, and focusing on improving private schools is the direction of our leadership. The aim is to see the system grow by 65 per cent by 2021."
In the first study of its kind, Interesting Cities found key ways to improving education standards include consistent government policy over many years, forging strong coalitions among parents, teachers and the government, increasing both accountability and support for teachers, and ensuring school-to-school collaboration.
The report also called for the need to create an educational culture which combines high expectations, transparency and good opportunities for professional development.
Steve Munby, chief executive at CfBT Education Trust, has urged city leaders and education experts in cities across the world to apply the lessons contained in this report.
"Improving learning outcomes is a huge challenge, especially in big urban areas where the population is diverse and often transient. That's why the positive findings from these five global cities are so exciting," said Munby.
The report also suggested that in several of the cities, new types of government schools were established as part of the reform agenda. "Although the impact of these measures is contested, there is some evidence that the new schools achieved better outcomes than conventional government schools and applied a useful competitive pressure on the whole school system," said Munby.
In every one of the cities there was also an emphasis on increasing the accountability of education professionals. The report also stated that there is an urgent need to make the teaching career attractive for young talented young people. Making teaching a career of choice for talented young people. The city reform projects often involved a new teacher recruitment strategy.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com